When June arrives, many teachers share the same concern: after all the work done during the school year, how can we help primary school students maintain contact with English during the holidays?
EstThis phenomenon is known as the “summer slide”, which refers to the gradual loss of knowledge and skills during the summer when children spend weeks without practice. In English, it is often particularly noticeable in vocabulary, reading comprehension, fluency, and confidence in communicating.
The good news is that summer doesn’t have to be an extension of the school year. Short, fun, and age-appropriate activities can help students continue practicing naturally.
That’s why we’ve prepared three printable English activities for summer, one for each cycle of Primary school, inspired by stories, songs and real content from Milton Summer, our online program designed for children to continue practicing English during July and August, just 15 minutes a day.
What do families look for to practice English in the summer?
Many families want their children to continue practicing English during the holidays, but they often encounter two difficulties: they don’t know what activities are suitable for their age or level, and they don’t want the summer to turn into an endless list of homework.
That’s why the best options are those that combine learning and fun. Games, songs, stories, short readings, and creative activities allow for review without pressure and help maintain the habit of listening, reading, and using English—and that’s how Milton Summer was created.
Milton Summer: Learn English easily during the summer
Milton Summer is designed to help primary school students continue practicing English during July and August in an autonomous, motivating way adapted to their level.
Through stories, songs, interactive activities and challenges, children continue to work on vocabulary, reading comprehension and language use without feeling like they are doing traditional homework.
These three printable activities that we share in this article are inspired by real content from the program and allow you to bring a small part of Milton Summer to paper as well.
First cycle of Primary Education: Order the Sentences
The first activity is inspired by Meet the Monsters, a song from Milton Summer designed for the little ones.
In this worksheet, students must order words to form a sentence, cut them out, paste them in the correct order, write the complete sentence, and finally, make a drawing related to what they have written.
It is a simple, visual and hands-on activity, perfect for first-cycle primary school students.
Want to listen to the song? If you already have access to Milton Summer, you can find Meet the Monsters in Milton Summer 1 · Day 2. If you don’t yet have the product, you can access the song by activating your 7-day free trial at https://summer.miltoneducation.com/.
What does this activity work on?
This activity helps reinforce basic English sentence structure, early reading skills, comprehension, and the relationship between text and images. Furthermore, by incorporating cutting, pasting, and drawing, it allows for active and creative language learning.
Second cycle of Primary: Memory Game
The second activity is inspired by The Bird Rescue, one of the stories included in Milton Summer.
This is a memory game that allows students to practice vocabulary and comprehension through a fun activity. Students must match the corresponding cards and can play alone, in pairs, or with their families.
It is an ideal activity to maintain contact with English without the need for a screen and to encourage the use of the language in a relaxed context.
Do you want to read the story? If you already have access to The Bird Rescue in Milton Summer 3 · Day 1. If you don’t have the product yet, you can access the story by activating the 7-day free trial at https://summer.miltoneducation.com/
What does this activity work on?
The memory game helps reinforce vocabulary in context, attention, visual memory, and story comprehension. It can also become an oral activity if children are encouraged to name the cards, describe them, or use the words in simple sentences.
Third cycle of Primary Education: Fill in the Gaps
The third activity is based on The Origins of Penny, a story from Milton Summer intended for students in the third cycle of Primary Education.
In this worksheet, students fill in the gaps in a text using the context to deduce the missing words. It is a particularly useful activity for children who have already developed greater reading independence and can tackle small comprehension challenges.
Want to read the story? If you already have access to Milton Summer, you can find The Origins of Penny in Milton Summer 5 · Day 8. f you don’t yet have the product, you can access the story by activating the 7-day free trial at https://summer.miltoneducation.com/.
What does this activity work on?
This activity reinforces reading comprehension, vocabulary, inference and autonomous reading. In addition, it helps students focus on the overall meaning of the text, not just isolated words.
Are printable activities enough to prevent summer slide?
Printable worksheets are a good way to stay engaged with English, especially when they are short, visual, and appropriate for the student’s level. However, to truly avoid falling behind during the summer, the most effective approach is to combine different types of language exposure.
During the holidays, children can continue practicing English through graded readers, songs, games, printable activities, and age-appropriate digital resources. The important thing is not to study for hours, but to maintain a light and consistent routine.
Would you like to recommend Milton Summer to families?
If you are a teacher and are looking for a simple way to help your students continue practicing English in the summer, you can share these activities as a free resource and recommend Milton Summer to families who want a complete program for July and August.